Automobile.



'I'. J. LINDSAY.

AUTOMOBILE. APPLIoATIoN FILED APR. 6. 190s.

925,779. Patented Junvzz, 1909I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

El /5 /f m r r A y r ,l

T. J. LINDSAY.

Patented June 22, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F Whee UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS J. LINDSAY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR Ol" ONE-HALF TO \\"lLI.lAll) HARMON, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

AUTOMOBILE.

Svpecication of Letters Patent.

Patented .Tune 22, 1909.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. LINDSAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, iii the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Automobiles, of which the following,r is a specification.

The object of my present invention is to provide a construction by means of which ordinary and rstandard buggy wheels of the wool-flled-hub type may be used for the power traction wheels of an automobile in a construction wherein the power is applied thereto by power shafts directly connected to the Wheels, the construction being such that the intermediate differential connection between the shafts'of theatwo traction wheels isrelieved from all thrusts of the traction wheelsi The accompanying drawings illustratie my invention.` n

figure 1 is an axial section of a standard hub equipped with iny improvement and attached to the end of a driving shaft properly mounted in the supported structure; Fig. 2 an axial section of another common and standard wheel hub, having wooden Spokes, equipped with my improvement;

'Fig 3 an end .elevation of my improved bushing; Fig. 4 a rear elevation, on a smaller scale, of a complete traction structure constructed in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 5 a section of such structure omitting a part vof oneend and the traction Wheels.

In the' drawings, 10 indicates a standard wheel having wire spokes 11 connected to a metal hub structure 13 at the points 11. If desired a wheel having wooden spokes 12 and a metal hub 14 may be used instead of 'the forni shown in Fig. l,l or any other the metal portion of the hub and was therefore incapable of transmitting successfully any driven power to the wheel and also incapable of sustaining the thrusts resulting from the use of a wheel as the traction wheel for a motor Vehicle. Instead of the ordinary bushing therefore I provide a metal bushing 1G which extends axially through the wooden filler 15 and is provided intcriorly with a keyway 1T by means of which it may he connected through a key 11s', or other suitable driving connection, with a driving shaft 19. Bushing 1G is provided cxtcriorly with radial ribs :21 which preferably increase gradually in radial dimension and, near their outcr ends, are increased radially at to such an extent as to lie within radial notches or rccesses formed in the end o't' the bushing l5 and in the adjacent portion of the nictal' hub 13 or 1d. At this end the bushing Il) is provided with a flange or head 25 which forms a cap for the inner end of the wheel hub so as to form an abutment for one incinbcr of a thrust-bearing 31 mounted in the outer end of a suitable structure 32 said structure ha ving a flange adapted to iiic'ase the thrust bearing 31 and inner ciid of the wheel hub and carry, if desired, a dust excluding ring 3i adapted to engage thc wheel hub.

The structure 32 is preferably a part of an inclosing casing or axle structure 35 to which the lbody or fi'aii'iework ofthe automobile inay be attached and upon which said body or frame may be su ported. The shaft sections 19 are journaled within the structure 35 and the thrust bearings 31 are sleeved over said shafts and engage a shoulder 3G in the part 32. In order to relieve the differentialv driving structure from any thrusts of the traction wh'cels I provide the inner end of each shaft 19 with a head 38 adapted to engage a thrust bearing 39, said thrust bearing lying between a shoulder 40, of the structure 35, and the head 38, the head 38 being provided with means. by which it may be rotatably connected to the adjacent portion of the differential structure 50. The traction Wheel With its bushing 16 slips freely axially upon the shaft 19 and its key 18 and engages the thrust bearing 31, being held in one direction on the shaft 19 by any suitable axially-adjustable means such, for instance, as the nut 20 mounted upon the threaded outei end of the shaft 19 and held in any position of axial adjustment by any suitable means as shown. By this construction it will be noted that the nut 20 serves to draw head 38 against the thrust bearing 39 and to draw the tiange of the bushing of the traction wheel against the thrust bearing 31, simultaneously forcing the two thrust bearings against theirrespective shoulders i 'and thus holding the shaft 19 against axial g wood-filled metal hub, and a metal bushing play and preventing the transmission of any Wheel thrusts through the shafts to the diferential.

'By this/arrangement Ihave been ableto utilize standard high buggy wheels for automobile driving Wheels without resorting to the now common expedient of applying driving power to such wheels through the 'medium of chains passed over comparatively large sprocket wheels attached to the spokes `of the driving wheels, my construction, on

the contrary, having all of the advantages of center driving at a cost materially less than can be accomplished with specially made Wheels such as are now commonly used in automobile construction.

I claim as my invention l. An automobile wheel Comprising a Wheel body having a Wood-filled met-al hub,

and a metal bushing mounted in the filling Iand having a ixed portion engaging the metal hub but axially separable therefrom to prevent relative rotation.

2. An automobilel Wheel Comprising a Wheel body having aI Wood-filled metal hub, and a metal buShing mounted in Athe i'illing and provided interiorly with means for nonrotative Connection with a drive shaft and exteriorly with a radial rib lyfiig Within a noteh in the metal hub.

3. The Combination of an automobile Wheel comprising a Wheel body having a. wood-filled metal hub, and a metal bushing axiallyseparahly mounted in the filling and havlng a iixed portion engaging the metal hub to prevent relative rotation, a shaft non'- rotatively connected to said bushing, a easing within which the shaft is journaled, and a thrust bearingarranged between the easing and the adjacent end of the bushine'.

le The combination of an .automobile wheel Comprising a Wheel body 'having a mounted in the filling and yprovided. interiorly with means for non-rotative connection with a drive shaft and eXteriorly `With a radial rib lying within a notch in the metal hub, a casing within which the shaft is jour` naled, and a thrust bearing arranged between the easing and the adjacentend of the bushing.

5. In an automobile, the combination of an `int-losing easing, a pair of shaftseetions journaled therein and each havingna headed inner end, a thrust bearing arranged between said headedinner end and the inclosing easing to prevent outward axial displacement of' its shaftl section, a thrust bearing. mounted upon the 'outer end of each shaft section and vengagingihe casing in the direction opposite to the other thrust bearing, and a wheel mounted upon the outer lend .of eaeh shaft section outside the last mentioned thrust "bearing, each of said wheels having a Wood-filled hub with a metal easing, a metal bushing Within said Wood iilling and splined upon the shaft section, said inetal bushing having an inner end adapted to engage the adjacent thrust bearing and having ribs non-rotatably engaging the metal shell of the hub, and means for holding each wheel upon its shaft section, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. l

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana, this fourth of April, A, D.one thousand nine hundred and eight.

THOMAS J. LNDSAY. [11. s] 1Witnesses:

An'rHUnvM. Hoon, THOMAS W. MoMnaNs. 

